Friday, August 10, 2012

LONDON--For many of the world's best track and field athletes competing on the planet's greatest stage, volt is the word.

Volt refers to Nike's track & field footwear collection (left/photo courtesy Nike Inc.), created to prepare athletes for their greatest performances. The collection offers footwear for events on the track, field and road, including the Nike Zoom Superfly R4, Nike Zoom Victory Elite and Nike Flyknit Racer.

The Nike Zoom Superfly R4 fuses revolutionary Nike Flywire with a lightweight spike plate that has been proven on the track by some of the fastest runners in the world. The Nike Zoom Victory Elite is our lightest, fastest 1,500 meter race spike ever, combining an ultra-responsive carbon plate with a dynamic Nike Flywire upper. The Nike Flyknit Racer, worn by world champion marathoners, is lightweight (5.6 ounces for a size 9) and engineered for a precision fit, creating a feeling of a second skin.

Kenya's defending world marathon champ Abel Kirui (above/photo courtesy Nike Inc) will wear his country's singlet made from recycled fabric that comes from the equivalent of three recycled plastic bottles. To make the fabric, bottles are ground into flakes, melted and then spun into special thread. All of the Track & Field uniforms for Nike sponsored federations have also been created using this technique.

The Kenyan colors have been added to the singlet using an innovative water-free dye process. Earlier this year, Nike announced a strategic partnership with DyeCoo, a Netherlands-based company that has developed and built the first commercially available waterless textile dyeing machines. By using recycled carbon dioxide, DyeCoo’s technology eliminates the use of water in the textile dyeing process.

Kirui will also run in the Nike Flyknit Racer shoe, featuring a revolutionary technology that enables running shoe uppers to be designed from knitted threads, these are precisely engineered for structure and superior lightweight performance while minimizing material waste during the production process.

“Elite athletes demand high performance technology that delivers every time they train and race” says Martin Lotti, Olympics, Global Design Director. “The recycled fabric and water-free dye process we have used for the Kenya singlet is the perfect combination of lightweight performance and low environmental impact.”

We are honored to receive this award, as it comes from our peers who passionately cover the sport, and strive to continue the legacy of excellence that the late Adam Jacobs sought before his untimely passing.

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About Me

Internationally respected track and field writer Paul Merca brings his take on the sport to paulmerca.blogspot.com.
Paul was the assistant director of communications for the 1984 USA Women's Olympic Marathon Trials in Olympia, WA., and public relations director for the 1999 USA Cross Country Championships in Tacoma, WA.
The current public address announcer for the University of Washington's home track and field meets, Merca's been a media assistant to the USA national team (2001-11, 13, 15) at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships.
His vast knowledge of the sport has been utilized by many of the country's sports television networks, and is a senior writer to Northwest Runner magazine. He's covered twelve IAAF World Track & Field Championships, and two Olympics.
Merca graduated from Seattle's Franklin High School in 1977, and received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Washington in 1981 in Communications.
He competed in track and cross country at Franklin, and ran cross country at the University of Washington.